Missing Dad
by thisisberkk
Summary: Zephyr reaches up and wipes some of the tears from her face. She sniffles. "Sometimes…sometimes I wish Daddy wasn't chief," she says quietly, almost sounding as if she was ashamed to admit such a thing out loud.


cross-posted from my ao3 account!

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Astrid stands in the kitchen of her house, putting away the dishes from this morning's breakfast. Zephyr had left the dining room a few minutes ago to get ready for schoolwork, and Nuffink was spending the morning with Grandma Valka, giving Astrid more space to teach Zephyr, since Hiccup was away.

Hiccup has been away all week for the annual chief meeting. Normally, Astrid would go with him, and the kids would stay with Valka while they were gone. However, Zephyr had gotten quite ill the day before Hiccup was to leave, so Astrid decided to stay back in New Berk with her and Nuffink so she could take care of Zephyr. It just worked out better that way – Valka wouldn't have to fuss over Zeph, and Astrid and Hiccup wouldn't both be freaking out because they were far away from their sick daughter.

Luckily, Zephyr seemed to get better day by day after Hiccup left for his chief meetings. She had been sick in bed every single day this week, not able to do any of her schoolwork or go out and play with her friends. However, today has been the first day where she seems to be back to her normal self.

Well…she's a bit quieter than normal, but Astrid will figure out what's going on with that sooner rather than later. She always does.

Astrid hears the soft sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, and she knows it's Zephyr coming down from her bedroom. Astrid finishes putting away all the dishes, wipes off her hands with a towel, and walks into the dining room to see Zephyr taking a seat at the table, where they do her lessons on writing and reading.

"You ready to get started, hon?" Astrid asks, seeing that Zephyr has already opened her journal that Hiccup made for her, a blank page ready for her lesson for the day.

Zephyr is normally very excited to do her school lessons; however, right now, she's slumped over, her cheek resting in her hand, and a frown on her face.

Astrid doesn't even wait for her to answer. "Are you okay, Zeph?" she asks, confused. She walks over to her daughter. "Do you still feel sick?" She reaches over to feel her forehead with her wrist when Zephyr shakes her head, interrupting her from doing so.

"Is something wrong?" Astrid takes a seat right next to the seven-year-old. She places a gentle hand on Zephyr's back, rubbing circles with her thumb. "Are you feeling okay?"

Zephyr shrugs her shoulders and sniffles, but Astrid is sure it's not because of the runny nose she had earlier this week. That had gone away yesterday. Astrid looks closer and sees tears appearing at the brims of Zephyr's eyes, which instantly makes her heart lurch.

"Oh, sweetie, what's wrong?" Astrid asks, pulling Zephyr closer, placing the girl's head on her shoulder, wrapping her arms around Zephyr tightly. She rubs her daughter's arms gently and kisses the top of her head. Zephyr's arms instantly go around her mom.

She mumbles something, but Astrid can't understand her. Astrid tucks a strand of Zephyr's hair that has come loose from her braid. "I can't quite hear you, Zeph. What did you say?"

Zephyr sniffles as she shifts her head so her cheek is pressed up against Astrid's shoulder. "I miss Daddy."

Astrid's heart melts when she hears the sound of her daughter's voice cracking as she admits what is making her feel so down. Zephyr has always been a Daddy's Girl. From the moment she was born, she has attached herself to Hiccup. She's near him whenever she can be.

Whenever Hiccup comes home, Zephyr always runs up to him and gives him the biggest hug in the world, even if he had only been gone for an hour. When he's working in his office at home, you can usually find Zephyr seated next to him or on his lap, either watching him work, doodling, or falling asleep in his arms. She sometimes even joins Hiccup while he's at work around the village, holding tightly to his hand or sitting atop his shoulders. She enjoys it, even though she's only seven and doesn't quite understand what is going on when Hiccup is dealing with issues around New Berk. All she wants is to be with Hiccup.

So _of course_ she's upset that Hiccup hasn't been home all week. Why didn't Astrid even consider this to be what was bothering Zephyr? She's gotten like this times before, but Astrid was just never around to see what it was like when Hiccup actually wasn't there. She's always been with him, no form of communication with their kids for an entire week.

"Oh, Zeph, it's okay," Astrid responds, gently rocking her daughter back and forth. "It's okay, Zeph. I'm sure he misses you, too."

Zephyr shrugs her shoulders.

"I'm serious, honey. Daddy always misses you when he's not home."

"But I want him here, Mommy," Zephyr says. "You said he was going to be home by the end of the week, and it's the end of the week."

Astrid nods her head. "I know, honey, but we're not sure when Daddy is going to be home. He might be home this evening, or he might be home tomorrow. It's a long sail ride back home."

Zephyr humphs.

"But he'll be home very soon. We just have to be patient. There's no way of knowing when he's going to be home, unfortunately."

"Why not?"

"It would take too long for him to send a letter," Astrid replies. "He's too far away."

"Why did it have to be so far away?" Zephyr asks.

Astrid shrugs her shoulders. "It's where the meetings have been for hundreds of years."

Zephyr sniffles and rubs at her nose with her hand. "Well…how come Daddy can't come home faster?" Zephyr asks, looking up at Astrid, her eyes glossed over with tears.

"It's the way things are. I bet Daddy really wishes he could come home a lot faster. Coming home on a ship can take a really long time."

Zephyr sighs, definitely not satisfied with that answer. Her shoulders slump, and she turns away from Astrid, not wanting to look at her.

Astrid reaches down and cups Zephyr's freckled cheek. "I'm sorry, Zephyr. I wish he was home right now, too. I'm sure Daddy wants to be home, too."

"Why did he have to go?" Zephyr questions, sniffling. She wraps her arms around herself.

"It's a part of his job. He's the chief, and this is what chiefs have to do."

Zephyr frowns.

"What's wrong?"

Zephyr shakes her head.

"Zeph, talk to me."

Zephyr looks down at the floorboards.

"Zephyr."

Zephyr reaches up and wipes some of the tears from her face. She sniffles. "Sometimes…sometimes I wish Daddy wasn't chief," she says quietly, almost sounding as if she was ashamed to admit such a thing out loud.

Astrid stares at her daughter for a few moments in silence, looking at the sad expression printed all over her.

"Oh, honey…" Astrid replies eventually, pulling Zephyr even closer to her, cradling the girl in her arms and kissing the top of her head. Zephyr starts fully crying at this point, and Astrid just holds her close to comfort her, her heart breaking for her daughter.

Astrid knows that this is probably incredibly tough for the little girl to go through. Every six months for a week straight, Zephyr doesn't get to see her dad. She doesn't have any communication with him, she can't talk to him, and she has no idea when Hiccup is coming back home.

Astrid thinks about how much easier this would be if they still had their dragons. Back before Hiccup was chief, Stoick would have him accompany him to these chief meetings so that Hiccup would know what they were like for when he would take his place as chief.

Astrid didn't go with them, obviously, since she and Hiccup weren't married yet, so they relied on Terror Mail to keep in contact. And, riding dragons was a much faster form of transportation than sailing, so Hiccup was home a lot sooner than how long it takes now.

But, this is the way they live now. Things aren't as easy. Things _definitely_ aren't easy for Zephyr and Nuffink. The two cried for at least an hour right after Hiccup left – Zephyr, especially. Astrid had to literally pry the girl off Hiccup's leg so he could leave. The kids had to sleep with Astrid that first night because they missed Hiccup so much.

Nuffink was fine the next day, and Astrid assumed Zephyr would be, too. Astrid was apparently wrong.

And sometimes just having parents in charge of the whole village is tough. Sometimes Hiccup and Astrid are busy at meetings or dealing with issues around the village, and Nuffink and Zephyr have to stay at someone else's house until they finish. Hiccup and Astrid try their hardest to include their children in their work, but it's moments like these when Astrid feels so bad for her and Hiccup's children.

Oh, if only Hiccup were here right now. He has first-hand experience with dealing with a parent as the leader of the tribe. He would know exactly what to say right now.

But he's probably on the boat right now, in the middle of the ocean, heading back to New Berk. He won't be home probably until tomorrow. Maybe tonight if they're lucky.

But, Astrid supposes she's also kind of had experience with this. When Hiccup first became chief, Astrid struggled with it all, too. There were days where she and Hiccup would barely speak to each other because of all the work that had to be done to repair the village. It was such a sudden change, since they had been basically attached at the hip prior to everything happening with Drago Bludvist and the death of Stoick the Vast.

She had to learn to accept that this was where Hiccup was meant to be, and this was where Astrid was meant to be, and everything was going to work out in the end. So, yeah, there were times where she wished she and Hiccup had a little bit more time for each other, but she knew that Hiccup was doing his job and was making sure that everything was going to be okay for the village.

And it did all work out. Look at where they are now – Chief and Chieftess of New Berk with two beautiful children and a happy village. They are so incredibly happy with their little family, and they wouldn't trade anything in the world for what they have right now.

"It's hard, Zeph, I know," Astrid says, kissing her daughter's forehead. "But this is Daddy's job. Daddy is the chief, and he gets to take care of the entire village. He's making sure that all of us are going to be safe and that everything is working for us. He's making sure New Berk is going to be safe for you, and that's why he's gone."

Zephyr hums. Her crying had calmed down slightly, but she was still sniffling, and a few tears were still falling down her cheeks.

"It is hard because Daddy isn't here, I know. I miss Daddy so much, and I know you do, too. Daddy doesn't like going away from you, either. But this is what he has to do. It's a part of his job. He wishes he could stay home and be with you, but he's looking out for the village and doing what he has to do. He's making sure everything is safe for you and Nuff and everyone else in the village by becoming friends with other tribes. Does that make sense?"

Zephyr sniffles. "Yeah," she replies.

Astrid kisses the side of Zephyr's head and smooths over one of her braids with her hands. "I know it's hard, but just know that Daddy loves you very much, and I know he's looking forward to coming home to be with you."

Zephyr smiles. "Thank you, Mommy." She wraps her arms rightly around Astrid, and Astrid doesn't hesitate to hold her close. "You're the best mommy in the whole world."

Astrid's heart melts, and she almost bursts into tears when she hears those words come out of her daughter's mouth. She reaches down and gently holds onto Zephyr's chin and lifts her head so their eyes meet.

"You're the best daughter in the whole entire world, Zeph," she says, meaning it with her whole being.

Zephyr smiles. "Thank you, Mommy."

Astrid tucks some of Zephyr's hair behind her ear. "Can I ask you something, Zeph?"

Zephyr nods her head.

"Did you pretend to be sick to make Daddy stay home with you?"

Zephyr shakes her head. "I really was sick, Mommy. I promise."

Astrid knows that Zephyr is telling the truth; the seven-year-old can't tell a lie or keep a secret without either Hiccup or Astrid finding out right away because Zephyr would probably burst into tears without realizing it because she hates doing things that she knows will get her in trouble with her parents.

"Okay," Astrid responds. She grins at her daughter. "I love you, Zeph."

"I love you, too, Mommy. Thank you."

"You're absolutely welcome, honey." Astrid glances over at the open notebook on the table. "How about we write a welcome home note and drawing for Daddy for our lesson today, huh?"

Zephyr's blue eyes brighten at that idea. "Yes! Yes!" she exclaims, clapping her hands.

Astrid laughs at her daughter's excitement. "Let's get started, then."


End file.
